Monday, November 7, 2011

Weekly Challenge #47

If you're NEW here (and there've been a lot of new additions to the party!) I'm working on creating some tutorials to help you out. You can click on the links above or: See "Getting Started" and "Tutorials"

To see all the past weekly challenges - click the tab above, or follow this link

Please grab the button for the Weekly Challenge (on the right sidebar) to display on your blogs! share the fun!

The limit of submissions to the slideshow is TWO, but please feel free to post as many as you like to your blogs. I will take the first two presented to each challenge.

and i want to say a very extra special big heart felt thank you to everyone who donated funds last week. I continue to be amazed by the generosity of spirit of this wonderful community. HUGS!

FIRST! The winner of this week's Zentangle Pocket Pages, supplied by the wonderful folks at CropStop!
I used a random number generator:

and winner #8 - lucky commenter #5

Congrats vicmelhorse, email me with your mailing address and we'll get those sent off to you post haste - courtesy of CropStop! My email address is in the contact tab above.

Didn't win this week? You can order your own Pocket Pagez from Crop StopReceive 10% off at the Crop Stop when you use the coupon code DIVA - awesome!

Halloween was super fun, up here at Casa Diva.
Usually, in Saskatchewan, there's snow on the ground by the middle of October, and all the Halloween costumes are designed to go OVER a snowsuit. There's also a lot of Trick or Treating at the mall, because it's warm. Or Trunk or Treating - where a bunch of parents get together in a parking lot (like a church) and the kids go from car to car and get candy from the trunk - lol...

This year the weather was beautiful, which meant that Chewie and i could do half the block before he wanted to quit. (mostly because he was tired and his halloween bag broke) Chewie and his friend E have done a matching costume since they were both born in 2008. The first year, Chewie was a little devil and E was a little Angel, the second year, Chewie was a Spider and E was a Ladybug, last year they were both pirates - but this year, they both have little siblings. So, we decided that my boys would be dragons, and E and her sister E2 would be fairies. So...freakin...cute.

Weekly Challenge #47: "Lest we Forget"
As we approach 11-11-11 this week's challenge is simply to remember. Canadians have "Remembrance Day" up here (Nov 11) - and every year starting on the last Friday of October the Cadets stand in Mall Entrances offering Lapel Poppies for donation. The idea of the lapel poppy is pretty neat - based on the Poem "In Flanders Field" written by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I have memorized this poem countless time for countless elementary school programs, sang it in countless different choral arrangements - but its not until this year that i actually sat and read it. This line: "To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high." gets me right in the gut. Do not give up. Do not forget. "If ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields."

The lapel poppies were first made in 1922 by disabled veterans. In time the Royal Canadian Legion took over the operation - and the Poppy Fund continues to support our Country's veterans.

When you create your tile or ZIA, the challenge is to remember - what this means to you. Remember your fallen loved ones, your long lost friend from childhood, remember when your 3 year old was once a tiny bundle in your arms, remember the feel of your aging grandmother's hand... remember laughter and tears, friends and family, fallen heroes or quiet bravery.

Poppy - by me.

and now the small-ish print:

If you have a blog, add the site-specific URL where your tile is posted to the linkey machine below! Don't forget to link back here so that others can join in the fun! (if you don't know how to find this, you can see my half assed tutorial here) Also, please feel free to come back often and visit the links of those people on the linkey machine - don't forget to leave a comment or feedback, everyone loves feedback. ;) If you don't have a blog but still want to participate, you can email your tile to me and i will post it here. (See the contact tab above for my email address) The deadline for each weekly challenge is Saturday night so that i can round everyone up by Sunday. What this means is that i will stop adding tiles to the slideshow on Sunday. You're still more than welcome to do the challenges and add your name to the linkey machine. I will be more diligent with the linkey machine - by editing out the ones that don't work, the doubles, the links that lead to nowhere, the links that go just to blog home pages (this is why we need those site specific urls), and the spam. And there is some spam.

34 comments:

Your Poppy and your post are Beautiful. And not only honors Canadian Remembrance Day and US Veterans Day, but harks back to last week's Halloween challenge. For me this is a holiday to honor losses, lost loved ones, ancestors.

Thanks for these special remembrances.. I too memorized this poem in grade school, and found myself reciting it this week. Amazing! - I don't know where my car keys are but I remember every word of Flanders Field.Thanks for all you do!

Couldn't get to this challenge until I arrived home from our mini vacation. This was tough....waiting. I wait for Mondays with great anticipation! Thank you for always exercising my mind with your challenges Laura, I so appreciate all you do for us!

I haven't thought of this poem in many years. My Daddy used to recite this poem to us when we were children (many) years ago. Your poppy tile inspired my tile with the poppy. Thanks for a great challenge. I'm #12.

Wonderful idea of challenge! One of my uncle had died in World War Two. Good idea to use the poppy in the challenge. I have checked all the works entered for this challenge and like all and very unique from everyone else's works, brilliant work! The children are so cute with fancy dress.

#26 this week. A very thoughtful challenge this week, Laura. Thanks for sharing the Halloween picture of your kids. That brought back a lot of good and fun memories of trick or treat with my kids and all of their fun costumes!

Thought I would share a link to my friends rendition she composed after reading the above peom. It was performed at her local Memorial service - I loved and hope some of you will also. (this is my other passion - mountain dulcimer) http://www.mountaindulcimer-1-3-5.com/Archive-In_Flanders_Fields.htm

#36 - I did it! My first online challenge, all linked up to each other on here, my blog & Facebook! LOL - how fun. As I read the poem that I've heard so many times, I wrote down words that stuck out. I then picked out tangles that represented those words to me. It was quite emotional! Thanks for the challenge.

#39- I waited until today 11-11-11 to post this challenge as a way of honoring our troops past and present. Having a father, husband and son who served in the military this is an especially poignant day for me. I'm glad my school teachers encouraged me to memorize "In Flanders Field", so many years ago.

HOUSE CLEANING!

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